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News Guide: Primary elections Tuesday in 6 states

Charles Babington Associated Press

Updated:
05/20/2014 09:46:47 PM EDT

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In this May 17, 2014, photo, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell speaks to a gathering of supporters at the Tanglewood Farms Restaurant in Franklin, Ky. There?s probably no one tea party conservatives would rather knock off than Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader who they view as too ready to compromise with Democrats. Their hopes were once high for Matt Bevin, a businessman making his first run for office. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, fended off a tea party challenger Tuesday to set up an expensive November contest against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. Grimes and McConnell won their parties' nominations as Kentucky and five other states held primary contests ahead of November's mid-term elections.

Also picking Senate nominees Tuesday were voters in Oregon, Georgia and Arkansas. Oregon Republicans were choosing a challenger to first-term Sen. Jeff Merkley, who only recently emerged as a GOP target. Georgia had a crowded GOP race, and a July runoff is likely.

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GOP SHOWDOWN: KENTUCKY

Tea party conservatives would love to have knocked off McConnell, who they view as too ready to compromise with Democrats. They once held high hopes for Matt Bevin, a businessman making his first run for office.

But Bevin struggled with everything from his official biography to an appearance at a cockfighting rally, for which he apologized. Mostly he suffered from withering attacks by McConnell's well-funded political machine, and the veteran politician dispatched the rookie with ease, winning 2-to-1.

McConnell positioned himself as a solid conservative who makes tough decisions and gives Kentuckians a powerful voice in Washington. He and Grimes, Kentucky's secretary of state, have been sparring for months. She won just as easily, racking up three-quarters of the vote in a four-way race.

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CONTROL OF THE SENATE

Seven Republicans — five well-known and reasonably well-funded — were vying for the nomination to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Georgia. The top two were headed for a July 22 runoff to decide who faces Michelle Nunn, the Democratic nominee. The daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, she made news on the final day of the campaign by refusing to say whether she would have voted for President Barack Obama's signature health care law.

Pediatric neurosurgeon Monica Wehby and state Rep. Jason Conger led a five-person contest for the Republican Senate nomination in Oregon. Some of Wehby's TV ads drew high praise. But the single mother of four faced reports that a wealthy ex-boyfriend called police last year and accused her of stalking him. The man now says he regrets the call, and he is backing Wehby's campaign.

In Arkansas, the U.S. Senate race will be fiercely contested — this fall. GOP Rep. Tom Cotton and two-term Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor were unopposed in their primaries.

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AT THE STATEHOUSE

In Arkansas, voters selected former congressmen to vie to replace the term-limited Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. Democrat Mike Ross and Republican Asa Hutchinson were Tuesday's primary winners. Four Democrats were seeking the nomination to challenge Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, seen as one of the nation's most vulnerable Republican governors.

In Georgia, incumbent GOP Gov. Nathan Deal was re-nominated, while state Sen. Jason Carter, grandson of the former president, was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Two-term incumbent Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter faced state Sen. Russ Fulcher in the GOP primary.

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ID NOW REQUIRED

It took a few extra minutes for Hutchinson to cast an early vote for himself in Arkansas on Monday, after he forgot to bring a photo ID to his polling place in Bentonville. Tuesday's election was the first statewide test of Arkansas' new law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot.

A spokeswoman said later that Hutchinson thought the incident was a "little bit of an inconvenience," but still believes the law is necessary.

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BOLDFACE NAMES

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for a U.S. House seat in Arkansas. In Pennsylvania, Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law, former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies, sought to return to the House representing a district northeast of Philadelphia in a four-way Democratic primary.

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UP NEXT

There's a two-week break after Tuesday, with the next primaries scheduled for June 3 in Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.